Old people are overrated and stupid friends are gold.

"Old people have no clue what they're talking about but my friends are the bomb" -King Rehoboam

How's that for some transparency? 
I mean, it doesn't say it like that in the bible but if you read between the lines, that was pretty much what King Rehoboam was saying in 1 kings 12. 

Here's a quick summary of the story if you're not familiar with it. A young King confronted with a big dilemma is faced with 2 choices. 

A. Listen to wisdom from his late fathers advisors i.e old people... or
B. Listen to wisdom from his buddies 

Option A came with a walker, dentures, an AARP card and lots of grey hair. 
Option B on the other hand was a lot sexier and a lot more fun. It wore skinny jeans, a V-neck shirt and listened to Mumford and sons. It also said words like 'dude' and 'right on'. 

There is no suspense in this story. You know what happened don't you? You know how this ends? 

Dude man picked option B. He listed to his buddies and ignored wisdom from old people. 

Some things just don't change. It was true thousands of years ago and it's true today. We think that old people are overrated and bring nothing of great value to the table.

At least compared to our buddies. Yea, our buddies. They know what's going down. They've been around the block. They get it. Let's listen to them. 

Oh my. Do we realize how stupid that sounds? 

K. Back to the story. Like I said, he listened to his friends and guess what? He lost everything because of it. He suffered the same fate that awaits you and I if we continually and arrogantly choose option B.

I'm not saying you shouldn't learn, grow and be challenged by your peers. I'm just saying your peers are well, your peers. I don't care how smart they are, they aren't 'that' wise. 

Yes confide in friends, but when it comes to making any important life decision, please, please seek wisdom from someone that's older and wiser. 

Their answer might not be what you want to hear but it will likely save you a lot of heart ache. 

I know we youngsters like to think we've got ‘it’ and that we're the generation thats gonna change the world and you know what, maybe that's true... 

I don't know. What I do know though is, we'll never be all we can be outside of the older generation. 

I also know that God's story is not filled with just young hipsters. No, It's multi-generational i.e plenty of old people in it. See Father Abraham.

You know, I used to want to be a part of that young vibrant generation that is known for changing the world... 

Now I hope to be a part of that generation thats humble enough to realize that we need to locks arms with the older generation ahead of us as we both cross the finish line together. 

One way I can personally apply this is by being intentionally about surrounding myself with older dads. If being a great dad is something I'm serious about then this isn't optional.

Few months ago I spent 15 minutes talking to my Pastor about parenting and I learned more from him than I would have learned from 15 hours with my other buddies who are parents. 

No offense to my friends but they are making it up as much as I am. My pastor on the other hand is old (no offense to him... ha ha) and godly and wise.

In what area of life do you need to listen less to your friends and intentionally pursue life with people who are older and more experienced? (finances, relationships, career, parenting, pursuing Jesus, marriage e.t.c)

Love to hear your overall thoughts on this one guys (and gals). Why do you think our culture doesn't like to embrace wisdom from older people or share life with them?

NOTE TO OLDER READERS: I know you'd never call yourself old and neither would I, except maybe online but never in real life. Ha. Seriously though, we need you. Will you please consider mentoring someone younger? You might not think you have something to offer but trust me, you do, even if all you give is an opportunity to learn from your mistakes. You can start small here by answering this question...

If you could offer any piece of advice on life to the younger generation, what would it be?